Danish prince leaves Olympics as father's condition worsens

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik left the Winter Olympics in South Korea on Friday to rush home because the condition of his father — the French-born husband of Queen Margrethe — has "seriously worsened."

Prince Henrik, 83, was hospitalized Jan. 28 for a lung infection with doctors saying they had found a benign tumor in his left lung. Family members visited him Friday at a central Copenhagen hospital.

Crown Prince Frederik, an International Olympic Committee member, left Pyeongchang before the official opening of the Winter Games, according to Denmark's National Olympic Committee.

Margrethe, 77, and her youngest son, Prince Joachim, arrived separately at the Rigshospitalet on Friday, according to Danish media.

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Earlier in the day, Frederik's wife, Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, and two of the couple's four children briefly visited Copenhagen's university hospital, where her father-in-law is a patient, Danish media reported.

Hundreds of Danes wrote on the royal household's Facebook page Friday, expressing hopes for the prince's quick recovery and offering warm thoughts to Henrik and his family.

Henrik often voiced his dissatisfaction with not being the queen's equal after she acceded to the throne in 1972, causing a stir in one of the world's oldest monarchies.

Last year, the palace announced Henrik was suffering from dementia.

Under Denmark's Constitution, the royal family has no political power and is barred from involvement in party politics.